Re-Install of Porsche radio?

Hi, All; My '01 C2 had a Kenwood radio installed by the PO. It was originally equipped with the CDR-220 CD/Radio according to my options label. I'd really like to find and install an original CDR-220. My question is: When the Kenwood was installed (std DIN mounting), is it possible that anything Porsche-related was removed such that I could not re-install the CDR-220? As in, if this is like any other aftermarket radio that I've installed, there is a bracket that is slid into the dash opening, then tabs are bent outward to lock the bracket in place. Was there a similar type of Porsche bracket or sleeve that would have had to be removed to fit this new bracket? Didn't want to order a new radio if this was a no-go. Thanks; Carl

As I recall from swapping the head unit in my 986, the opening is the full DIN size, and any aftermarket radio will come with a cage to install in the opening. If you remove any cage used to install the Kenwood, the Porsche radio should slide back in. Disclaimer: This was 4 or 5 years ago...I don't remember it all that well. I would be more concerned about what was done to the wiring harness. If the PO (or PO's installer) did it right and used harness adapters, you should be fine. If the original harness was hacked up to work with the new Kenwood, you have a potential nightmare on your hands putting the factory wiring back together. Pull the Kenwood out (non-destructively) and take a look at the wiring. If you see an adapter between the radio's harness and the Porsche harness, sweet. If you see lots of electrical tape...not sweet.

One additional comment: How does the Kenwood sound and function? IMO, the 996's factory radio is a turd. If you don't mind the way the Kenwood looks and sounds, there's a good chance you're better off.

I replaced my factory unit with and I used the correct harness and antenna adaptors to aide in the re-install in case I needed to. Is your factory harness intact? Is the factory amp still in the frunk? Like 5CHN3ll said, lots of tape or butt (wire connectors) connectors = not sweet

I just replaced the factory 220 on my 996.2 that came with the HiFi Bose option. I put in a Kenwood 9902 with Apple Car Play. IF the car EVER hits the collectibility curve and originality is highly valued, I MIGHT put the 220 back in. I used a harness adapter from CAI so the original wiring is intact. I'd have to do some minor rebuilding to restore it to stock, but it could be done. But the real question, given the fact that originality is not that big of a deal in the market, is WHY on Earth would you put that POS back in there? The audio quality is worse than anything they could have put in there. The Kenwood, all by itself, with no changes to the Bose speakers or stock amp, has transformed my system into something listenable with very good audio acoustics. Keep the 220 on the shelf for future purposes, but maybe look for another decent single DIN to replace the current one if you don't like it for some reason. The 220 is your worst audio option IMHO, unless you really want the stock look, and you don't listen to it anyway.

Yup. It's definitely a turd. What it lacks in power it makes up for in abysmal audio quality. The best thing about it is the complete lack of connectivity, so you'll probably never have to hear how bad it can make your digital music sound.

Well, to answer everyone at once: 1. factory amp still in frunk. Factory speakers still installed. 2. haven't pulled-out Kenwood just yet, so don't know what's back there. 3. as sick as it might be, I just wanted the stock look. I have better sound systems in my other cars, so if I want to listen to music, I'll drive them. If I want to listen to flat-6 music, I drive the C2. 3a. Also, (and just to show my age), it seems all aftermarket units have all buttons sized to be 1/16" square, placed right next to one another. Trying to hit ONE button in a stiffly-suspensioned vehicle is frustrating. 4, Kenwood doesn't work (no power, no nothin'), and just now starting to poke around to find out why. Found an 8" red wire hanging inside the fuse box, unconnected to anything. Doesn't have power coming OUT of it, so I'm thinking this may be the power lead for the radio. Haven't gotten further than that. Thanks for the thoughts and opinions. Really didn't know the CDR-220 was that miserable. May help sway the decision!

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One of the best reviews I've read! Made me laugh out loud.

I have the original CDR 220 from my long gone MY 03. I am saving it for when the 996 becomes a true classic and owners start returning them to their original bone-stock condition and will shell out huge money to find a working and complete single din unit. BTW...I had a cab and the sound was much better with the top down while cruising at 75mph.

I just replaced my neighbors '02 c2 kenwood deck (from po) with his original cdr-220. It took me 20 minutes total. If you're sure you have stock amp and speakers... its easy to check the rest. Pop off the horseshoe surround, then you only need to remove the connectors on the left side (leave the right side to dangle). The top left connector needs a tiny flathead to unclip the top and side.. then lift the clips up and pull it off while holding the switch button. The other one just pulls off (and theres another in back there just connected to a metal (ground?) - you'll see it. Then pop the centre heater control fascia off, then 2 (or 4 - cant remember?) for the center then 4 for the full surround. It all just pulls straight out. Oh - make sure you have the kenwood radio pull keys to get the kenwook out of it's cage!! Then you have access to everything. if it was done right he will have a harness on the back, you can unplug everything and plug back into the cdr-220. Look at the owners manual it will show you the location of the little plugs (theres 3 slots for the extra plugs but you will likely have only one or two). I had to peel out the radio cage for the kenwood and he didn't have a cage for the cdr-220. It gets pressed in at the back under two tabs (youll see them) and it was tight so he didnt need a cage (but technically the radio could be pulled out if someone yanked hard enough). There will be a big black connector and one or two little ones and then the antenna. once you seat the radio, you push the whole centre back on, 4 screws - one on each corner, then the clips for the left side, then the heater control then the heater control fascia and push the horseshoe sides back on and you're done.

Happy CDR-220 user over here. All you need is to install the Aux input and your connectivity issues will disappear. I use my smart phone as my source of music/content and stream it through the aux input via a bluetooth adapter. IMO changing out the speakers will have a much bigger impact on the sound quality than putting in a different head unit.

Well, as I noted, the Kenwood did not work at all. Turns out the power lead was just hanging in the fuse box unconnected. Made up a test jumper (wasn't sure if the red wire WAS for the radio or something different. Applied power and I now have radio. Actually sounds pretty good. Didn't play around with any of the faders or audio settings (yet), but it's not too bad. Seems to be a decently-featured radio: MP342U; has USB and AUX inputs, so I can connect my phone for add'l music. Questions: 1. Is there any way to tell if the sound is running through the Porsche-stock audio amp in the frunk? 2. It appears that on my '01 C2, the radio fuse is one that is powered regardless of ignition key. (Row D, fuse 8) Is there a popular fuse / circuit that folks use to allow the radio to power-off with the ignition switch? Hmmm..... I may keep this one after all (see original post).

The 4-wire connector under the center console (the "phone" connector) is a great choice for switched power.

Not a bad idea, BUT.... the power lead has already been routed up under the dash and into the fuse box area. So I'm already there, just trying to figure out a circuit/fuse that can handle the load of the radio (and amp?) along with whatever other device(s) is on that fuse. Also, would be nice to connect it to a non-critical device as well, just in case an overload or the Kenwood blew the fuse. Gee....that wiper fuse sure looks handy... (kidding)

What I would do: Use the switched - but low-amperage - phone connector and a relay to turn the Kenwood's main power on/off. Incidentally, the Kenwood should have two +12v leads - one for switched power for all of the audio stuff, and a second to maintain the memory settings, clock, etc. If the PO truly did a hack job and the thing was just wired to be always on, you may need to split those two wires.

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I'm pretty happy with it too, although I haven't added any aux input or anything yet. It could be a lot worse, and as a cab owner there are issues with audio quality before we even start talking about the speakers or head. So I'd rather keep it in, and it's not like anyone would want to steal it, and its' not that I'd feel bad if it got wet from having the top down.

I have the original CDR-23 (04') with the fibre optic system. I don't think it sounds all that bad?? Was the 23 a big improvement on the 22?

No, neither sounds appreciably better than the other. I had the full Bose MOST package in my '03 986, and it was just as spectacularly average as the non-MOST in my 996. The MOST implementation must have been a Porsche engineering exercise: "Let's see how ridiculously we can complicate something without actually making it any better."

I agree with the OP I built a full sound system custom box, amps head unit everything. After a month I removed it all, put an iPad mini in the dash with a bluetooth antenna adapter and couldn't be happier. My ipad controls all my music and my OEM radio does a fine job of volume control. I also retain the RDS on my dash read out with this system.